Safe In My Father's Arms
by Phantom's Muse
Summary: War of the Worlds: Based on the 2005 Steven Spielberg film One shot fic! Set fifteen years after the events of the movie. Rachel is married and her husband, Sam, tries to figure out the riddle of the safety and comfort he can't seem to provide for her.


Safe In My Father's Arms_ by Phantom's Muse_

**Summary:** _Based on the 2005 Steven Spielberg film, one shot fic. Set fifteen years after the events of the movie. Rachel is married and has rebuilt her life after the destruction of the aliens. However, she still has dreams recalling the traumatic events of the attack. Her husband, Sam,seeks to find the answer behind the safety and comfort he can never seem to provide for her._

**Disclaimer: **_The characters portrayed in the story are property of H. G. Wells. I own nothing save Sam, Rachel's husband._

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Safe In My Father's Arms _by Phantom's Muse_

"If I close my eyes….when I open them, they'll be gone….right?"

"Why won't they leave?"

"They've taken everything. We have nothing…we _are _nothing."

The soft, feminine voice came as it did every night. And every night he waited…he knew they would come.

They would come and take her away as they always did. He wished that he could protect her. He wished that he could fight what it was that tormented her dreams, her thoughts.

But she never admitted it to him. She would never let him face the fears that haunted her every moment. She would never let him face the fears that stayed with her even now and never allowed her a moment's peace. She would never let him protect her from the monsters in her dreams.

The monsters that came and took everything she had….they had ripped her….not just her, but our world apart.

And what exactly is it that they sought?

The only answer anyone could arrive at….was to destroy us; to destroy all of mankind. They did not succeed, for something happened that they had not planned on….we fought back. This world would not be destroyed so easily. They underestimated us.

But they left us scarred, so we will never forget.

_She_ could never forget. Even fifteen years after it had happened, she still woke up at nights, breathing heavily, beads of sweat covering her body…and as much as he wanted her to, she would never seek safety within his arms, she would never seek comfort within the warmth of his grasp.

He didn't know why…. he finally decided for whatever reason he couldn't protect her from the monsters.

She sat up and after realizing _they_ had not come to take her, she sighed and walked over to the balcony doors. She opened them quietly and walked out onto the balcony.

Leaning on the railing, she stared out into the Pennsylvania landscape. He sat up in the bed and watched her thoughtfully wishing he could be the one to comfort her.

After they had first gotten married, Rachel would wake up….after having the dreams. She would have trouble breathing and he would always try and help her, but for some reason she always refused his touch.

Sam knew it wasn't because she didn't love him; it was just a complicated aspect of her being.

He would always try and persuade her to let him help, to offer what comfort and safety he could, yet she refused. He wondered if she even felt safe with him at all.

Sam was curious, if not he then who was the one who protected her? Who was the one that fought the monsters in her dreams?

Eventually, he discovered what he thought to be the answer to the riddle lingering in his mind.

He had first conceived the idea the first year of their marriage on a trip to Boston to visit Rachel's family for Christmas. It wasn't obvious at first and it was possible for anyone to overlook it.

Rachel's father had come to her grandmother's house since apparently it seemed Mary Ann and Ray were still on good terms with one another; they were still close.

Sam was glad that the divorce had not destroyed the relationship between the mother and father, the father and kids. Most divorces he had seen had ended with hell and the kids were usually the ones who took the most of it, whether they deserved or not.

What Sam didn't know was that after the divorce there was really no bond between the father and kids. It was a bond forged through fear and the will to survive, and the will of every father to protect his family, the ones he loves.

When Sam had first met Rachel, she did not reveal much about her past and family life though he could tell she was close with them. On that trip to Boston, there was something….something different. He could tell in the way she acted around her father; the way she acted around her brother.

Sam knew that Rachel looked up to her older brother, Robbie. And at first, it seemed that here lay the answer to his riddle; the older brother protecting the younger sister.

Yet, he still wasn't satisfied for it felt as though there was something more. Sam was not far from the answer and he noticed it that night, as the whole family had gathered in the den around the fireplace; the way Rachel always stayed close to her father's side and occasionally leaned on his shoulder affectionately.

Sam had decided that he had found his answer….her father protected her and although it may seem obvious that there would be that special bond between father and daughter; Sam knew that Ray had protected her in a way he never could.

He had fought the monsters and saved her.Sam only wished that now he could save her and fight the monsters for her.

He hated seeing the look of her when she would awaken from a nightmare; she looked lost….and scared. And now watching them together, he saw that little girl safe in her father's arms.

He knew there would always be that little girl, but he also knew that her father could not always be there to protect her.

This was so much more than that special bond between father and daughter. Sam discovered that the evening before the eve of Christmas.

Like so many other nights, the monsters forced her from sleep, but this time, unlike those before, she called out. It was not Sam's name that came to her lips; instead it was 'Dad!' which echoed desperately from her panicked voice.

She sat up quickly, breathing heavily, the beads of bad dreams covering her body, like all those times before. Yet unlike all those times, there was someone there to protect her now.

She got up from the bed and rushed over to door. Sam sat up and reached out to her, but as she opened the door, there stood Ray in front of her.

At first, it startled her, but she knew he had heard her call out to him and she ran into his arms. He comforted her like Sam had tried to so many times before. This time tears came to her as she lay there in her father's arms.

He brushed the blond hair away from her face and whispered to her as only a father could to his daughter.

Ray knew why his daughter had cried out. The monsters still haunted her dreams and although he had never admitted it, they still haunted his.

"The monsters are gone." He whispered in Rachel's ear; her head still buried in his chest.

"They won't hurt you any more." Ray leaned in closer as his voice became softer.

"Open your eyes." Rachel slowly obeyed and when she looked up, Ray smiled down at her and the tears left her eyes. A look of comfort replaced the lost and scared look whichSam had seen her display so many times before.

Sam sat there feeling helpless as he saw that little girl finally safe in her father's arms.

_Here I go again  
__Slipping further away  
__Letting go again  
__Of what keeps me in place  
__I like it here  
But it scares me to death  
There is nothing here  
The light is beautiful  
But I'm darker than light  
And you are wonderful  
But this moment is mine  
All of this dust  
All of this past  
All of this over and gone  
And never coming back  
All of this forgotten  
Not by me  
I find comfort here  
Cause I know what is lost  
Hope is always fear  
For the pain it may cost  
And I have searched for the reason to go on  
I've tried and I've tried  
But it's taking me so long  
I might be better off  
Closing my eyes  
And God will come looking for me  
In time  
All of this dust  
All of this past  
All of this over and gone  
And never coming back  
All of this forgotten  
Not by me  
All of this dust  
All of this past  
All of this over and gone  
And never coming back  
All of this forgotten  
Not by me  
I can see myself  
I look peaceful and pale  
But underneath  
I can barely inhale  
I can hear myself singing that song  
Over and over until it belongs to me  
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'_All of This Past' by Sarah Bettens_

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The End! I hope everyone enjoyed it. I loved the bond between Ray and Rachel and wanted to write a story about them. Plus I think Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning worked very well together. The song above ('All of This Past' by Sarah Bettens) is the song that originally gave be inspiration for the story, but there is also another song that I was listening to and I thought it would go well with the end when Rachel is safe in her father's arms. The song is 'Everything' by Lifehouse. The lyrics are posted below. Please read and review. I'm also beginning some Batman stories, so please come check them out:)

I remain your humble servant.

- Phantom's Muse

_'Everything' by Lifehouse_

_Find Me Here  
Speak To Me  
I want to feel you  
I need to hear you  
You are the light  
That's leading me  
To the place where I find peace again._

You are the strength, that keeps me walking.  
You are the hope, that keeps me trusting.  
You are the light to my soul.  
You are my purpose...you're everything.

How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?  
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

You calm the storms, and you give me rest.  
You hold me in your hands, you won't let me fall.  
You steal my heart, and you take my breath away.  
Would you take me in? Take me deeper now?

How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?  
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?  
And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?  
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

Cause you're all I want, You're all I need  
You're everything,everything  
You're all I want your all I need  
You're everything, everything.  
You're all I want you're all I need.  
You're everything, everything  
You're all I want you're all I need, you're everything, everything.

And How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?  
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?  
How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?  
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?  
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?


End file.
